Life Time Deterioration of Turbine Components

Deterioration of Turbine Components During Start-Up
OMMI (Vol.3, Issue 1) April 2004
www.ommi.co.uk
Lifetime Deterioration of Turbine Components During Start-Ups

Grzegorz NOWAK, Andrzej RUSIN, Institute of Power Engineering and Turbomachinery, Silesian
University of Technology, Poland
Grzegorz Nowak PhD, Institute of Power Engineering and
Turbomachinery, Silesian University of Technology, ul. Konarskiego
18, 44-100 Gliwice, Poland, gnowak@polsl.gliwice.pl
Deals with FEM thermo-mechanical analyses and
turbomechinery.
fatigue
of
Prof. Andrzej Rusin PhD, DSc, Institute of Power Engineering and

Turbomachinery, Silesian University of Technology, ul. Konarskiego
18, 44-100 Gliwice, Poland, rusin@rie5.ise.polsl.gliwice.pl
Deals with complex reliability and durability assessment of
turbomachinery, computer aided turbine operation and modernization of
turbine operation condition.
ABSTRACT
Market requirements of power supply reliability force both manufacturers and operators of
power machinery to take adequate care of a units equipment. A units reliability strongly depends
on how it is operated. The operating conditions of this kind of equipment are very complex, mainly
in terms of unsteady thermal and mechanical loading. In this paper the authors try to show the
influence of different ways of operation on the turbine component strength state, lifetime and some
safety aspects.
The analyses are carried out by means of the FEM using the real measurements. Real parameter
gradients within a single initial thermal state significantly differ from the manufacturers
instructions. This of course results in the size of the components stress level and, consequently, in
fatigue. In this paper the authors point out the problem mentioned above and show to what extent
the speed of start-up influences the stress state and durability of the steam turbine components.
Key words: turbine, start-up, stress, lifetime, critical crack size
1
INTRODUCTION
Modern power systems are required to provide high standards of reliability and availability,
which is due to the character of tasks realized by these systems and also to the very strong
competition in the European power market. Hence, both manufacturers and operators need to take
extra and continuous care to increase the factors mentioned.
The reliability and safety of the whole power system depends greatly on the way in which the
main power unit components such as the turbine, boiler and generator are operated. The operating
conditions of those devices are usually very complex and involve many unsteady mechanical and
thermal loads which in consequence determine the stress states of the particular components [1].
The durability of the steam turbine should be considered in terms of the durability of its main
components, which can be divided into two major groups, mainly the shells (casings, valve
housings) and rotating parts (rotors). For the purpose of this work the influence of different start-ups
of the power unit on the fatigue of the turbine components was investigated. The analyses were
done for the cut-off valve and the IP rotor of the large power turbine. Furthermore, if a component
shows some discontinuities (flaws), resulting from fatigue processes or faulty manufacturing, the
very essential factor determining components safety is the critical crack size. This problem will be
briefly described in the following sections and also some conclusions will be drawn.
OPERATING CONDITIONS
The operation of power machinery is periodical in character, and the typical work cycle is
composed of the start-up, power generation and shut-down of the installation. The first and the last
part of the working cycle are the non-productive periods, so they should be as short as possible. On
the other hand, during these periods high variations of loads occur which entail higher failure risk.
The failures can result from fatigue processes occurring during load variations, especially thermal
loads.
During the turbine start-up, the components are intensively heated-up due to the increase of
steam temperature. The temperature gradient occurring within the components depends on the
steam jet rate as well as the steam temperature, and influences directly the stress level. To analyse
the impact of the way the unit is started up on the material effort of the main components, many
records of actual parameter variations in time were collected and worked out. The curves recorded
can be enclosed within a certain area, (Fig. 1).
600
250
500
200
Power output [MW]
Temperature of live steam [C]
400
300
150
100
Reference
Reference
Start-up 1
200
Start-up 1
50
Start-up 2
100
Start-up 2
0
0
60
120
180 240 300

Time [min]
360
420
480
60
120
180 240 300

Time [min]
360
420
Fig. 1. The start-up curves of the live steam temperature and power output
On the basis of a detailed analysis of the collected start-ups, some curves, characteristic from the
point of view of safety, had been selected: the reference curve (manufacturers directive), the
shortest start-up (the upper boundary of the area), the longest one (lower boundary of the area) and
two other curves which showed intensive changes of steam parameters.
An analysis of the start-up according to the reference curve allows to compare actual stress
states to the producers assumptions. In the following sections of this paper, some assumptions of
the thermo-mechanical states modelling of the selected turbine components are presented [3]. For
some characteristic start-ups numerical calculations of the stress states and material deterioration
due to low cycle fatigue have been preformed and presented.
480
MODELLING ASSUMPTIONS
The modelling of the thermo-mechanical states of the turbine components taken up in this work
was performed by means of the software package ANSYS, which makes use of the Finite Element
Method. The preparations of the computational-ready model is composed of several stages. Firstly,
the geometry of the component in question has to be input and discretised. Next, the material
properties are set. Lastly, the initial (initial thermal state) as well as boundary (thermal and
mechanical loads, constraints) conditions have to be specified.
3.1 GEOMETRY MODELS
For the purpose of this research, numerical models of the IP rotor and HP cut-off valve of the
large power turbine were prepared. In the case of the rotor, the model is axis-symmetric with a
possibly accurate mapping of its geometrical details (the form of disks, blade notches). This
component is composed of 11 stages, where 7 disks are cast together with the shaft, and the other 4
are machined separately and shrinkage fixed. The computational model comprises the firm disks
while the others are referred to by adequate boundary conditions.
As far as the valve is concerned, because of no evident symmetry of the component, it was
decided to build a 3D model of the valve-housing. There are three pipe connections that were
involved. The geometry of the components analysed, together with the finite element meshes, are
presented in Fig. 2.
B
C
A
C B
Fig. 2 Finite Element Models of the HP cut-off valve (above) and the IP rotor (below)
3.2 LOADS
Load models have been prepared for each analysed component according to the character and
conditions of the operation. The rotor is subject to a complex load produced by:
Revolutions (3000 rpm)
Inertia forces of the blades
Pressure
Heating-up / cooling down
In the case of the valve it seems to be easier because the main loading of the component comes
from the steam pressure within the valve-housing and the temperature variations. To model possibly
accurate the stress states of the components, all the factors mentioned should be involved in the
analyses. The computational process leading to the stress state determination is realized in two
steps. Firstly, the thermal analysis of the component is performed, which results in temperature
distributions for subsequent time steps. Secondly, on the basis of these results and taking into
account the mechanical loads, the stress states computations are made for the same time steps. Such
simulations require sequential running of two corresponding load models: the thermal and the
mechanical one.
In the thermal model the initial temperature of the component at each node of the finite element
mesh is assumed, as well as the thermal boundary conditions at particular surfaces of the
components. Because of the physical processes within the turbine, an assumption was made that the
heat is transported from the working medium to the component body in a form of convection. Of
course the boundary conditions, especially for the rotor, differ according to the location in the
system and are dependent on the steam parameters. The parameters are evaluated by modelling the
steam expansion along the blade system, and then the convective heat transfer coefficients are
determined.
In the structural model some constraints resulting from the support conditions need to be
applied. Particular mechanical loads are assigned both at the nodes (inertia body loads) and at the
outline of the geometry (pressure, contact loads). Moreover, the results of the performed thermal
analyses (temperature at each node) stored in a database are used in the calculations.
4
NUMERICAL SIMULATIONS
The above and the acquired from the real power unit start-up curves became input data for
numerical simulations of thermo-mechanical states of the HP cut-off valve and the IP rotor. Among
the curves gathered, the calculations were performed for some distinct start-ups:
characteristic curve (reference)
real one standing out with high temperature rate (I)
real one standing out with many reversals of temperature rate (II)
All the start-ups relate to the cold initial state, which means that the initial metal temperature is
below 250C. In the analyses made for comparative reasons, the initial temperature difference
between steam and metal for each case was assumed at 40K.
The simulations of the temperature and stress fields were performed for the entire models,
whereas for more detailed analyses some areas were selected. These areas were distinguished by
highest stress levels, and according to authors, most subjected to failure risk. These were four points
for the rotor and another three for the valve, whose location was marked in Fig. 2.
4.1 START-UP ACCORDING TO THE REFERENCE CURVE
At the first stage the thermo-mechanical analyses for both selected components during the
simulated start-up were performed following the manufacturers instructions. This case served as a
reference for the various manners in which the turbine in question was started up.

550
200
500
450
150
Equivalent stress [MPa]
Temperature [C]
400
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
100
50
0
0
0
60
120
180
240
Time [min]
300
360
420
60
120
180
240
Time [min]
300
360
420
Fig. 3 Cut-off valve temperature (left) and equivalent stress (right) distribution during reference
start-up
550
350
500
300
450
Temperature [C]
400
350
300
250
200
150
250
200
150
100
100
50
50
0
0
0
60
120
180
240
Time [min]
300
360
60
120
180
240
Time [min]
300
360
Fig. 4 IP rotor temperature (left) and equivalent stress (right) distribution during reference start-up
Since the slope of the steam temperature curve is almost constant, the heating-up process is
very regular. This results in stress distributions, where at the beginning the stresses increase to the
maximum value and then go down to the steady state level. Only one significant stress amplitude
can be seen.
4.2 REAL START-UPS

For the comparative analyses undertaken in this paper, two actual start-ups described earlier
were selected. They showed a significant departure from the reference curve.
550
250
500
450
200
Temperature [C]
400
350
300
250
200
150
150
100
50
100
50
0
0
0
60
120
180
240
Time [min]
300
360
60
120
180
240
Time [min]
300
360
Fig. 5 HP cut-off valve temperature (left) and equivalent stress (right) distribution during start-up I
550
600
500
550
450
500
450
Temperature [C]
400
350
300
250
200
150
400
350
300
250
200
150
100
100
50
50
0
0
60
120
180
240
Time [min]
300
360
60
120
180
240
Time [min]
300
360
Fig. 6 IP rotor temperature (left) and equivalent stress (right) distribution during start-up I
During start-up marked as I the rate of steam parameters changes was much higher than in the
reference case and it had some consequences in the stress distribution. Because of the monotonic
temperature changes the stresses show only one amplitude, but significantly higher than before and
at some locations up to twice as much.
550
125
500
450
100
Temperature [C]
400
350
300
250
200
150
75
50
25
100
50
0
0
0
60
120
180
240
Time [min]
300
360
60
120
180
240
Time [min]
300
360
Fig. 7 HP cut-off valve temperature (left) and equivalent stress (right) distribution during start-up II
247
257
268
278
289
299
310
320
331
341
Fig. 8 Temperature (left) and stress (right) distribution within HP valve housing
0
24
47
70
93
117
140
163
186
210

550
350
500
300
450
Temperature [C]
400
350
300
250
200
150
250
200
150
100
100
50
50
0
0
0
60
120
180
240
Time [min]
300
360
60
120
180
240
Time [min]
300
360
Fig. 9 IP rotor temperature (left) and equivalent stress (right) distribution during start-up II
Fig. 10 Temperature (upper) and stress (lower) distribution within IP rotor
In start-up II the parameters change more irregularly, showing many oscillations. This is of
course reflected in the stress field. However, the stress level is comparable to or lower than obtained
in the reference case: two major and several lesser amplitudes can be seen.
FATIGUE
The varying stresses caused by the periodicity of the external loading lead to some
deterioration processes occurring within the component body. These processes are connected with
the material fatigue, which results in a gradual decrease of the material ability to resist loads, which
in turn leads to rupture. According to the character of the loading, the fatigue can be divided into
mechanical, thermal or thermo-mechanical. The last one occurs most often within the heat turbine
components, where the mechanical load is produced by body and surface loads. Thermal stresses
originate due to the non-uniform temperature distribution within the body and applied constrains.
According to the assumed definition of the operation cycle, comprising the start-up, power
generation and shut-down (natural or forced) fatigue calculations are made for such a cycle. In the
former paragraph, there were analyses performed aiming to evaluate stress distributions during the
first stage of the cycle. The results obtained allow the setting of material degradation in a single
cycle caused by stress variations.
To evaluate the low cycle fatigue per work cycle of a component, a fatigue curve is required.
It defines the dependency between the stress/strain level and the number of cycles to rupture [5],
[6]. In this paper the authors decided to use the fatigue curve described as follows:
N = M a
(1)
where M and a are constant coefficients and stands for the strain amplitude. Apart from strain
amplitude level, another factor determining the fatigue is the number of amplitudes occurring in a
single operation cycle.
For each of the analysed start-ups the strain amplitudes were evaluated and then the fatigue was
calculated by means of the rain flow method. In Table 1 the relative deterioration factor was given.
Start-up
Reference
Real 1
Real 2
Cut-off valve
100%
136.6%
102.4%
IP rotor
100%
223.8%
92%
Table 1. Relative life consumption for various start-ups
CRITICAL CRACK SIZE

Safety and reliability of turbine components are strongly connected with material parameters,
which have an influence on material behaviour during the deterioration processes. One of these is
the fracture toughness (KIC), which in turn affects the allowable flaw sizes (critical crack size)
within machine components. This parameter is the function of Fracture Appearance Transition
Temperature (FATT). To prevent the disastrous, brittle fracture of a component, the FATT should
sustain much below the operation temperature. It is so in the case of new components, but as
research shows, it can grow during the operation [7].
In fracture mechanics stress components, especially those in tension, which can open the flaw
and enlarge its size, play a major part. Apart from equivalent stresses shown in previous sections,
stress components were also watched, from the point of view of highly positive values. These
quantities strictly influence the stress intensity factor [4]:
K I = f a
(2)
where, is the tension stress, f is the geometry factor, a the crack size. If KI reaches its critical
value (fracture toughness) then the critical crack size can be expressed as:
10
1 K IC
(3)
f
Since fracture toughness is the function of temperature, during start-up its value will change.
The stresses also vary while the turbine is being started, so the critical crack size changes
significantly. The point is not to allow a to reach the value of acr. Some results showing the critical
crack size for the IP rotor in the central bore are presented below.
acr =
Start-up
Reference
Real 1
Real 2
acr [mm]
IP rotor
24.6
11.9
26.8
Table 2 Critical crack size in rotors central bore
CONCLUSIONS
The results of the thermo-mechanical fatigue calculations for the main turbine components
presented in this paper are a part of a wider research dealing with power machinery lifetime. They
show the significant influence of operation conditions, especially during start-ups, on the stress
level and in consequence on the lifetime. The degradation produced by a single start-up can differ
from the designed by one, two or even three times. It means, that the allowable number of
work cycles changes in a similar ratio. This problem becomes more and more severe according to
the changing pace of power units work. Many of them, which have been working as primary units,
nowadays are shut-down more often, and the annual number of start-ups exceeds 100. Bearing this
in mind, we should realise the importance of the appropriate start-up control with strain constrains
[2].
8 REFERENCES
[1] Gampe U. Cycling and high load operation of large capacity steam power units 16th Seminar
on Turbomachinery, Dresden 2002
[2] Kosman G., Rusin A., Nowak G.: On-line & Off-line steam turbine component strain states
monitoring for the diagnostic system, ASME Paper, 97-GT-456,1998.
[3] Nowak G. : The influence of operation conditions on heat turbine lifetime , PhD thesis,
Gliwice 2000
[4] Stress intensity factors handbook, ed. Murakami Y., Pergamon Press 1988
[5] Suresh S.: Fatigue of materials, Cambridge University Press, 1998
[6] Webster G.A.,Anisworth R.A.: High temperature component life assessment, Chapman and
Hall, Londyn 1994
[7] Viswanathan R., Gehl S.: A method for estimation of the fracture toughness of CrMoV rotor
steels based on composition, J. of Eng. Materials and Technology, vol. 113, 1991.

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OMMI (Vol.3, Issue 1) April 2004